Tuesday, 12 April 2016
Topics to Revise
Thursday, 24 March 2016
Why do words change their meanings?
External Factors:
Cultural changes, technological innovation or social conventions can affect how a word is used.
E.g. Virus, Bug, Crash, Windows have all been
Changing social ideas also mean that a need for new terms arises.
E.g. LGBT = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender to replace words that are no longer acceptable.
Cultural changes can also result in broadening/ bleaching of words as the original usage loses its significance.
E.g. Guy
1. Guy Fawkes
2. Someone with a grotesque appearance
3. Gradually replaced fellow to refer to any man
Internal Factors:
Basic meanings of a word can be linked to some similarity, either a specific attribute or an abstract concept. E.g. an actual virus can be likened to a computer virus.
Cultural changes, technological innovation or social conventions can affect how a word is used.
E.g. Virus, Bug, Crash, Windows have all been
Changing social ideas also mean that a need for new terms arises.
E.g. LGBT = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender to replace words that are no longer acceptable.
Cultural changes can also result in broadening/ bleaching of words as the original usage loses its significance.
E.g. Guy
1. Guy Fawkes
2. Someone with a grotesque appearance
3. Gradually replaced fellow to refer to any man
Internal Factors:
Basic meanings of a word can be linked to some similarity, either a specific attribute or an abstract concept. E.g. an actual virus can be likened to a computer virus.
Thursday, 17 March 2016
The Origins of English
Timeline of historical and linguistic development
Old English 5th Century
Language of Britain was Celtic. English developed from speech of the Jules, Angles and Saxon. Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse had a big impact on the English language. Vocab drawn from both. Latin very influential part of the formation of English from this time onwards. English language was mostly phonetic so meant little consistency in written language.
Middle English 11th Century
Norman invasion significant event in the history of English. French = verbal language of the court and administration while Latin remained important in written documentation. (especially by the church).
Early Modern English 15th Century
Caxton introduced printing press from Europe which helped contribute to the establishment of a standard form of English.
Modern English 18th Century
Present-day English 20th Century
Old English 5th Century
Language of Britain was Celtic. English developed from speech of the Jules, Angles and Saxon. Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse had a big impact on the English language. Vocab drawn from both. Latin very influential part of the formation of English from this time onwards. English language was mostly phonetic so meant little consistency in written language.
Middle English 11th Century
Norman invasion significant event in the history of English. French = verbal language of the court and administration while Latin remained important in written documentation. (especially by the church).
Early Modern English 15th Century
Caxton introduced printing press from Europe which helped contribute to the establishment of a standard form of English.
Modern English 18th Century
Present-day English 20th Century
Thursday, 10 March 2016
Drop
The word 'Drop' has numerous meanings in different dictionaries. The first dictionary I researched was the "dictionary.com" website. This website provided me with 74 different definitions. The first named Drop as a noun and explained that it was "a small quantity of liquid that falls or is produced in a more or less spherical mass; a liquid globule." This was followed by a number of similar definitions including "the quantity of liquid contained in such a globule." and "a very small quantity of liquid." These definitions vary slightly but are different showing us how specific language has become and that one word can be broadened to have the same topic but specific meanings within the subject of for example - small amount of liquid.
There is a variety of definitions provided for Drop such as "an act or instance of dropping" "a small, usually spherical, piece of candy" such as lemon drop as well as "to come to an end" in the context of a matter being dropped by the police etc.
The next dictionary I researched was the Cambridge dictionary which provided the definition of Drop as a verb and described as tofall or to allow something to fall. This is a very formal way of describing the word Drop. However, the following definition is "Drop Dead" which I believe to be quite informal, especially for the Cambridge dictionary.
In the urban dictionary, the word Drop has a number of meanings which differ from the conventional dictionary definitions. The first suggestion that is given to me is as a verb and provides the following three definitions:
1. To knock someone over, usually associated with the first hit in a fight
2. To spend (generally a lot of) money; to buy something
3. To release an album
There is a variety of definitions provided for Drop such as "an act or instance of dropping" "a small, usually spherical, piece of candy" such as lemon drop as well as "to come to an end" in the context of a matter being dropped by the police etc.
The next dictionary I researched was the Cambridge dictionary which provided the definition of Drop as a verb and described as tofall or to allow something to fall. This is a very formal way of describing the word Drop. However, the following definition is "Drop Dead" which I believe to be quite informal, especially for the Cambridge dictionary.
In the urban dictionary, the word Drop has a number of meanings which differ from the conventional dictionary definitions. The first suggestion that is given to me is as a verb and provides the following three definitions:
1. To knock someone over, usually associated with the first hit in a fight
2. To spend (generally a lot of) money; to buy something
3. To release an album
Friday, 4 March 2016
1700s Dictionary to Now
Dictionaries have changed from the 1700s to the present day as they were previously created by a single man names Samuel Johnson. They are now created by numerous lexicographer who add and remove words into the dictionaries that are being used and that are no longer being used in today's society. In 175, Samuel Johnson created the dictionary which took him over 8 years to complete and included 40,000 words, some of which he has created himself which are completely unrecognisable to our current English language
Examples of this include:
Deosculation : Warm Kiss
Odontalgik : Tootache
Nowadays, the dictionary is reviewed 4 times a year by the lexicographers and edited in response to the change in our English language. The OED is also online and includes features such as audio clips which allows you to hear the word if you are unsure of the pronunciation.
Another online dictionary that has been newly developed is the Urban Dictionary which is an online slang version of the current OED. The Urban dictionary allows members of the public who are not lexicographers to add words into this dictionary in which the administrators of the website will verify if the input is a valid addition.
Words such as:
Earphone Zombie
Kanye Not
Pied - are some of the words that have been added and accepted into the Urban dictionary.
Another feature of the urban dictionary is that you are able to 'like' or 'dislike' a word if you think it is correct or incorrect and should've or shouldn't have been included into the urban dictionary. This highlights the language change that has occurred over the years and how technology has influenced the way our dictionaries work as we are now able to share words through Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites in order to share new words that someone has discovered.
Examples of this include:
Deosculation : Warm Kiss
Odontalgik : Tootache
Nowadays, the dictionary is reviewed 4 times a year by the lexicographers and edited in response to the change in our English language. The OED is also online and includes features such as audio clips which allows you to hear the word if you are unsure of the pronunciation.
Another online dictionary that has been newly developed is the Urban Dictionary which is an online slang version of the current OED. The Urban dictionary allows members of the public who are not lexicographers to add words into this dictionary in which the administrators of the website will verify if the input is a valid addition.
Words such as:
Earphone Zombie
Kanye Not
Pied - are some of the words that have been added and accepted into the Urban dictionary.
Another feature of the urban dictionary is that you are able to 'like' or 'dislike' a word if you think it is correct or incorrect and should've or shouldn't have been included into the urban dictionary. This highlights the language change that has occurred over the years and how technology has influenced the way our dictionaries work as we are now able to share words through Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites in order to share new words that someone has discovered.
Tuesday, 1 March 2016
Jean Aitchison's Metaphors For Prescriptive Attitudes To Language Change
The Damp Spoon model highlights the apparent laziness and sloppiness over the ways language changes - such as dropping apostrophes and the subjunctive (basically all prescriptivists see change as negative). It's called this because it's similar to the laziness Aitchison felt when a damp spoon was put back into a sugar bowl.
The Crumbling Castle view treats English as a beautiful, pristine, precious building that must be preserved. Any change would be like letting the castle fall to ruin. The issue is that the language has to have been at a 'perfect' state at some point. But this isn't true as standardisation never fully set down 'rules' (Latin rules, so again, trash) until 300 years ago.
The Infectious Disease model sees language change as an 'infection' that people can catch, in much the same way that floating germs spread disease. The issue with this is that people change their language use because they want to use the changed meanings, in order to fit in etc. In defence of the model however, it functions in much the same way as the bull's eye theory.
The Crumbling Castle view treats English as a beautiful, pristine, precious building that must be preserved. Any change would be like letting the castle fall to ruin. The issue is that the language has to have been at a 'perfect' state at some point. But this isn't true as standardisation never fully set down 'rules' (Latin rules, so again, trash) until 300 years ago.
The Infectious Disease model sees language change as an 'infection' that people can catch, in much the same way that floating germs spread disease. The issue with this is that people change their language use because they want to use the changed meanings, in order to fit in etc. In defence of the model however, it functions in much the same way as the bull's eye theory.
Friday, 5 February 2016
The Etymology of "Silly"
The word "Silly" has not always meant to be foolish. Instead, its meaning has changed a number of times from being lucky, happy, blissful or weak. Middle English refers to the varieties of the English language spoken after the Norman Conquest (1066) until the late 15th century and is the period of where the word "Silly" originated from.
Its first known use was in the 14th century. It derives from the old English word "sely" which once meant happy, lucky, blessed or blissful. This word sely had and origin of its own as was changed through its spelling several times. It first began with the the Old English word gesælig meaning"happy, fortuitous, prosperous" which is related to sæl meaning "happiness" from Proto-Germanic sæligas. Basically, all of these words stemming from Good old english word "gesælig" , Proto-Germanic word "sæligas" , Old High German word "salig" and similar sounding words in many other ancient european languages having the root word "sel"carried the meaning of " happy, prosperous" in early periods. Soon after, the word "seely" was developed in which we have devised the word "silly" from.
However, this change from an "e" to an "I" in "seely" is very uncommon and has only happened in a limited amount of words. Although the change of the spelling "silly" hasn't changed any further, the word has still had a considerable sense of development moving from "happy" to "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (c. 1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (late 13c.), "weak" (c. 1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1570s). The word then went on to mean "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc.
Silly then changed its meaning tendency toward "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc. Silly season in journalism slang is from 1861 (August and September, when newspapers compensate for a lack of hard news by filling up with trivial stories).
Its first known use was in the 14th century. It derives from the old English word "sely" which once meant happy, lucky, blessed or blissful. This word sely had and origin of its own as was changed through its spelling several times. It first began with the the Old English word gesælig meaning"happy, fortuitous, prosperous" which is related to sæl meaning "happiness" from Proto-Germanic sæligas. Basically, all of these words stemming from Good old english word "gesælig" , Proto-Germanic word "sæligas" , Old High German word "salig" and similar sounding words in many other ancient european languages having the root word "sel"carried the meaning of " happy, prosperous" in early periods. Soon after, the word "seely" was developed in which we have devised the word "silly" from.
However, this change from an "e" to an "I" in "seely" is very uncommon and has only happened in a limited amount of words. Although the change of the spelling "silly" hasn't changed any further, the word has still had a considerable sense of development moving from "happy" to "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (c. 1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (late 13c.), "weak" (c. 1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1570s). The word then went on to mean "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc.
Silly then changed its meaning tendency toward "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc. Silly season in journalism slang is from 1861 (August and September, when newspapers compensate for a lack of hard news by filling up with trivial stories).
Friday, 15 January 2016
A2 Language - Language Change
Task 1
Banter:
Definition of banter in English:
noun
[ mass noun]
Bitch Face
Definition of bitch face in English:
noun
informal
Wine O'clock
Definition of wine o'clock in English:
noun
humorous
Butt-Dial
Definition of butt-dial in English:
verb ( butt-dials, butt-dialling, butt-dialled; US butt-dials, butt-dialing, butt-dialed)
[ with object]
( plural fishos) Australian /NZ informal
Youtuber
Definition of YouTuber in English:
noun
Task 2
Prescriptivism
Strongly Against Language Change
Definition: The attitude or belief that one variety of a language is superior to others and should be promoted as such. An ardent promoter of prescriptivism is called a prescriptivist or stickler.
A key aspect of traditional grammar, prescriptivism is characterized by a concern for "good," "proper," or "correct" usage. Contrast with descriptivism.
Strong believers in rules of grammar and think that the system should be closely followed.
Descriptivism
For Language Change
Definition: A non-judgmental approach to language that focuses on how it is actually spoken and written. Contrast with prescriptivism.
People who understand the rules of grammar but are open to new ways of language and playing around with these rules and discovering new ways of rewriting the English language.
Synchronic
Definition of synchronic in English:
adjective
Banter:
Definition of banter in English:
noun
there was much good-natured banter
Bitch Face
Definition of bitch face in English:
noun
informal
(Typically with reference to a woman) a scowling facial expression, especially as the natural cast of a person’s features:
I have a bitch face too! That’s why people talk to my friends first instead of me!there’s no reason to be rude and put on a bitch face when someone’s just being friendly
Wine O'clock
Definition of wine o'clock in English:
noun
humorous
An appropriate time of day for starting to drink wine:
I just checked my watch and it’s definitely wine o’clock
Butt-Dial
Definition of butt-dial in English:
verb
Inadvertently call (someone) on a mobile phone in one’s rear trouser pocket, as a result of pressure being accidentally applied to a button or buttons on the phone:
I have had several people butt-dial me, from former girlfriends to my brother
Selfie Stick
Definition of selfie stick in English:
noun
A device in the form of a rod on which a camera or smartphone may be mounted, enabling the person holding it to take a photograph of themselves from a wider angle than if holding the camera or smartphone in their hand:
Bae
noun
US informal
I’m going to see my bae [ as name] : Bae just made me tacoswhat’s wrong, bae?
Duck Face
Definition of duck face in English:
noun
informal
An exaggerated pouting expression in which the lips are thrust outwards, typically made by a person posing for a photograph: the pop star pursed her lips into a duck face in one shot [ as modifier] : her duck face selfies
Fisho
Definition of fisho in English:
noun
A person who catches or sells fish: the local fishos have dropped off the best of last night’s catch
Youtuber
Definition of YouTuber in English:
noun
A frequent user of the video-sharing website YouTube, especially someone who produces and appears in videos on the site: we’ve been seeing top YouTubers getting TV deals over the last couple of years
Cat Café
Definition of cat cafe in English:
noun
A cafe or similar establishment where people pay to interact with cats housed on the premises: she was one of many waiting in line this morning for the opening of North America’s first pop-up cat café
Prescriptivism
Strongly Against Language Change
Definition: The attitude or belief that one variety of a language is superior to others and should be promoted as such. An ardent promoter of prescriptivism is called a prescriptivist or stickler.
A key aspect of traditional grammar, prescriptivism is characterized by a concern for "good," "proper," or "correct" usage. Contrast with descriptivism.
Strong believers in rules of grammar and think that the system should be closely followed.
Descriptivism
For Language Change
Definition: A non-judgmental approach to language that focuses on how it is actually spoken and written. Contrast with prescriptivism.
People who understand the rules of grammar but are open to new ways of language and playing around with these rules and discovering new ways of rewriting the English language.
Synchronic
Definition of synchronic in English:
adjective
synchronic linguistics
The study of language given at a certain time. Current language change.
Task 3
John McWhorter TED Talk - Prescriptivist
John Humphrys- Prescriptivist
John Sutherland on Texting- Prescriptivists
David Crystal on Language - Descriptive
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